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The team from Charity Navigator, the nation's largest independent charity evaluator and leading donor advocate, shares their thoughts on emerging nonprofit-sector issues and offers tips to better inform your intelligent giving decisions.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Charity News Roundup

Here's a digest of charity news in the headlines this past week:

The recent big financial failures - Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG - figured prominently in the news articles about charities this week. There is widespread concern over the negative impact that these events may have on the nonprofit sector: see some examples here, here and here.

While the American Red Cross is working hard to help the victims of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, they are also working to restore their own image, tarnished by their recent problems with Katrina relief and leadership scandals. Their new CEO, Gail McGovern, is optimistic about the organization's current work and future prospects.

There is somewhat less optimism in the Government Accountability Office, which recently reported that the Red Cross and other disaster-relief private charities may not be able to handle disasters of the magnitude of Katrina in the future.

Politics is taking a back seat to philanthropy as Americans are reaching out to help their neighbors in Cuba recover from the devastating effects of this season's hurricanes.

As noted in a previous entry on this blog, celebrities are very much involved in charitable efforts these days. This week saw a generous donation from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to an AIDS clinic in Ethiopia, and generous contributions to hurricane relief from two sports franchises in Houston, the Rockets and the Astros.